Price Factor in buying bourbon

[brian12069]

I have to say that in "a general sense" the higher proof bourbons are the better tasting. Again...it's in my opinion and I am generally speaking. So I guess if I am looking at 2 bourbons on the shelf, both are 19.99 but one is 80 proof and the other 100, and I have never had either?!?!?!?......No questions asked...I always go for the higher proof.

[fogfrog]

Well, its funny but the more whiskey I drink the easier I am to please. When I first tried Evan Williams 7YO, I thought it was rough. Now I am thinking I actually might prefer it to the better stuff. I am drinking it right now and like it and I think its about 10 bucks a bottle and less than 20 for a 1.75L.

I tried scotch lately too and had been tasting Chivas when at a Casino I asked for scotch they gave me this stuff and to me it tasted like Chivas. I looked at the bottle and it was Cluny. Here in KC it is 15.29 for 1.75L. So I bought it and liked it. Later I thought maybe its cheap stuff, so I bought some more expensive blended scotch, but found out I prefer the Cluny which is less than half the price of most blends and about a quarter the price of Chivas.

So I guess I'm a lucky guy who can buy a half gallon of scotch for 15.29 and a half gallon of bourbon for about 18 bucks and can be happy about it. Now how much is that a drink? 60 drinks for 18 bucks is like 30cents a drink. And as far as I can tell, both Evan Williams and Cluny are the good stuff as far as my taste buds are concerned.

but it was an evolution I think.

Paul

[JeffRenner]

Edit: I'm sorry, I have just been informed that there is no way in hell she could get a pair of Jimmy Choos for less than $250.

I realize (once again) that I am a lucky man, indeed. Not only do I have no idea what Jimmy Choos is (are?), but I just checked with the boss, and neither does she!

Jeff

[barturtle]

Well, they're shoes. and though it might seem that shoes would last longer than a bottle of whiskey, they would be out of style long before then and be wasted wad of money on less leather than it takes to make a belt.

[Sijan]

My point related to the problems in comparing bourbon & wine on a value basis, not so much the difference between different proofs of bourbons.

But keep in mind that even BIB bourbons are "watered down." I doubt many folks stick to only barrel-proof bourbons, and with good reason. Many bourbons are better - or at least more drinkable on an everyday basis - at lower proofs. I don't feel like I'm getting better value from, say, Colonel Lee BIB or J.W. Dant BIB, than I'm getting from a "watered down" Van Winkle 10/90 or Eagle Rare SB or Elmer T Lee.

[Yes, my tagline is often attributed to W.C. Fields. No idea if he really said it or not, or quite how it was phrased. I've used it occasionally, and have been on other whiskey-related forums, but I imagine it's a common enough quote in whiskey circles.]

[AJ123]

Well the main way I used this myself is to justify comfort in buying any bottle of bourbon for under $100. And my current fav, PVWFR 20, can be had for $85 at a local shop I've found. Isn't a rationalization wonderful!

But Jimmy Choos can work in reverse: My wife is in Cancun with daughter for spring break while I am working. Coincidentally, I "just happened" to buy a bottle of EW's Distiller's Masterpiece for $220. Now I just have to get up the gumption to actually drink some!

A $100 bottle of bourbon is equivalent to a $30 bottle of wine in cost per drink (alcohol equivalent drinks). If you buy a 100 proof or cask strength then it's more like a $120-$150 bottle of bourbon is equivalent to a $30 bottle of wine.

And who hasn't bought a $30 wine (or more).

I recently bought a bottle of bourbon for $225 - That's really only like drinking a $65 wine bottle.

And if you think about the myriad great $30-$60 bottles of bourbon, that's really like buying wine for $10-$20 a bottle.

Tell that to the spouse if you have to justify why you spent so much.

[AJ123]

Correction that was JB's Distiller Masterpiece!

Well the main way I used this myself is to justify comfort in buying any bottle of bourbon for under $100. And my current fav, PVWFR 20, can be had for $85 at a local shop I've found. Isn't a rationalization wonderful!

But Jimmy Choos can work in reverse: My wife is in Cancun with daughter for spring break while I am working. Coincidentally, I "just happened" to buy a bottle of EW's Distiller's Masterpiece for $220. Now I just have to get up the gumption to actually drink some!

[ThomasH]

My only prerequisites for buying a bottle of bourbon are that I desire to own one and have the revenue to buy it. I don't require a lot of extras in life, but what little bit I do want, I don't to ask for permission to get it. As long as that statement that is my paystub shows up in the mail every 2 weeks, it shall stay that way. Once in a while I'll hear some whining from the wife, but after nearly 17 years of marriage, she has learned what will and won't get sympathy from me. Nobody in my family has ever done without anything due to the purchase of a bottle of whiskey, and they never will either.

Thomas

[NorCalBoozer]

I don't know if I agree that many are better watered down. I will say they are different and in that respect can be good in their own right. I find that depending on my mood I might like something like a Stagg uncut, or sometimes with a bit of water, or sometimes with a cube of ice. Even though it's the same bourbon, each way is different to me.

I guess in that sense a barrel proof gives you more value if you take into account that you can add water or ice to it and have 3 different versions of the same bourbon. You can't really take a 86 proof Jim Beam and easily increase proof, and I wouldn't want to add water or ice to an 86 proof beam, at that point Nightquil might have more of a kick.

I think this may be the reason for the rancor over some distilleries lowering proof. It's not that the lower proof product is bad, it's that the higher proof version was good and now we have something that is less versitile for basically the same cost.

But keep in mind that even BIB bourbons are "watered down." I doubt many folks stick to only barrel-proof bourbons, and with good reason. Many bourbons are better - or at least more drinkable on an everyday basis - at lower proofs. I don't feel like I'm getting better value from, say, Colonel Lee BIB or J.W. Dant BIB, than I'm getting from a "watered down" Van Winkle 10/90 or Eagle Rare SB or Elmer T Lee.

[Yes, my tagline is often attributed to W.C. Fields. No idea if he really said it or not, or quite how it was phrased. I've used it occasionally, and have been on other whiskey-related forums, but I imagine it's a common enough quote in whiskey circles.]

[mbanu]

A $225 bottle of bourbon??? In the States???? What in the world was it?